Ilya Maizelis’s masterpiece is the definitive introduction to the game of chess. It has inspired generations of Russians to take up the game, including arguably the two greatest players of all time, the 12th and 13th World Champions. The Soviet Chess Primer is a modern English translation of Maizelis’s witty introduction to the royal game. This new edition of a timeless classic includes an original foreword from the 2nd World Champion, Emanuel Lasker, as well as an introduction from the most celebrated chess trainer of modern times, Mark Dvoretsky.

Good-humoured dialogue is the reader-friendly technique, Stinking Bishops uses to present a pair of related but puzzling practical endgames. Take bishops: 'unlike' contrast with 'like'. Add a black and a white rook, then just a single white pawn, and we have seven chessmen. The 'books' are silent on this endgame, as indeed they are on all 7-man endings. Stinking Bishops is not deterred, venturing politely to differ, voicing a minority view. It investigates both cases, in the average player's company, and at his pace, consistently eschewing acres of so-called 'analysis' -- and in the process breaks new ground in chess literature.

In this book IM Arthur van de Oudeweetering supplies building blocks for your chess knowledge. In short chapters he presents lots of well-defined subjects, easy to remember because of their specific elements. After working with this book you will experience something wonderful: your mind and memory will be triggered much easier and more frequently. An increasing number of positions, pawn structures and piece placements will automatically activate your chess knowledge. As a result, you will simply find the right move more often and more quickly!

Most chess games are not won – they are lost. Many instructional chess books tell you how to improve a position when it is already (or may be) favourable. This book offers help when you definitely do not have the advantage. Every chess player needs a sound arsenal of defensive techniques. This book covers them all – counterplay, when to accept sacrifices, how to anticipate short- and long-term threats, and how to minimize losses. It also helps you create a strong underlying psychological framework for defensive technique – it teaches you how to stay cool under fire, how to stonewall and how to exploit your opponent's weaknesses.

The Bad Bishop is a notorious villain in chess, but often a perfectly respectable bishop is falsely accused. The Secret Life of Bad Bishops takes an in-depth look at the bishop – not just dealing with good and bad bishops but also more nuanced cases where a “double-edged bishop” could turn out to be a game-winning hero or a fatal liability. All phases of chess are covered, from opening to middlegame to endgame. The final two chapters test the reader’s newly enhanced understanding with carefully chosen exercises and instructive solutions.

Older players or busy chessplayers don't always make the most of themselves. On this all-new Foxy Openings DVD, IM and FIDE Senior Trainer Andrew Martin gives you some key tips to help you improve! Just because you are getting older or have limited time at your disposal, it does not mean that you cannot maintain your strength or even make yourself a stronger player! You just have to concentrate on the right things. This is a DVD full of targeted advice. Look forward to taking down opponents who you have never taken down before once you have viewed it!

Award-winning chess coach Erik Czerwin’s unique training method begins by studying the simplest chess positions with very few pieces – and then moves on, step by step, adding more pieces to the board. Complex ideas are always built up from simpler situations, ensuring that the learning curve stays flat.

In this book the reader will discover the incredible power unconventional moves can have. These moves contradict the most fundamental principles of the "old chess", and yet most of them played by leading grandmasters.

Grandmaster and renowned chess coach Zenon Franco provides a training course designed to help all aspiring players to improve their chess. During each lesson, you are invited to play a 'game' in which you try to find the best moves at all the important moments.

Journey to the Chess Kingdom Gold Classics of Russian Chess - Over a Million Copies Sold

Catalog Code: B0007EV

GM Arkadij Naiditsch presented a copy of “Journey to the Chess Kingdom” to me during the recent Chess Olympiad in Tromsø. The cover and illustrations are quite attractive and stand out in a positive way among the popular “chess board on the cover” designs. The diagrams are neat-looking and the paper is glossy and nice to touch. Overall, the book has a positive aura and feels inviting to read.

Examine the brilliance of Karpov with GM Bryan Smith.
Anatoly Karpov was the 12th world champion, and is considered by many to be one of the greatest chess players of all time. Karpov is known for a well rounded style, and as a practical player, strategist and positional player.

The Improving Chess Thinker provides representative thought processes from all classes of chess players, highlights the differences between these levels, and provides insight to help players raise their thinking process to the next level.

Senior FIDE Trainer and International Master Andrew Martin chooses easy-to-understand key ideas to help you improve. Adopt his simple recommendations and you will find your game improving quicker than you ever thought possible.

This is one of the most instructional DVDs Roman has ever produced and is highly recommended for all players as well as coaches. The Russian School of Chess has produced, through a formula of methods and patterns, some of the greatest players of all time. In Part I, Roman explains, step-by-step, how to developed your pieces for the best possible future activity and coordination

Worlds Apart; The Difference Between a World Class GM and an IM - Chess Lecture - Volume 91 With International Master David Vigorito

Catalog Code: DVD0091CL

IM David Vigorito analyzes the decisions in games of two masters. One master a world class GM and the other an IM and illustrates how a difference of two hundred points in ranking becomes exponential in terms of game play.

It is very important for the practical player to train his or her ability, understand when to rely on intuition, rules of thumb and more general positional considerations, when to try to solve problems by calculating variations to the end and how to manage time to avoid time pressure. With these goals in mind, the second edition of Dvoretsky's Analytical Manual delivers excellent, high quality training materials and many exercises.

Mikhail Tal is one of the all-time chess greats. In 1960 he became the youngest champion in world history at the age of 23, sweeping to victory at his first attempt. His extraordinary tactical ability has never been bettered, and his reputation goes from strength to strength.

This absorbing book, first published in the early 1980s, is based on diaries kept by Tal’s coach from their training sessions, and this unique perspective makes it a fascinating and effective chess instructor, written in engaging language and suitable for teenagers as well as older readers.

It shows how Tal achieved greatness through hard work, application and the influence of a world-class coach, and through this book modern readers can catch a glimpse of the development of a true chess genius. The book is fully updated and converted to algebraic format.

If you want to become a chess master, there are certain things you need to know. The Masters know them and now you can learn them too. This invaluable book collects all these techniques together in one volume, so you can try them out, tick them off, and progress on your path towards chess mastery.

In this book, former American Open Champion Cyrus Lakdawala invites you to join him in a study of his favourite Botvinnik games. Lakdawala examines Botvinnik's renowned skills in the key areas of attack and defence, initiative, exploiting imbalances, accumulating advantages and endgame play. He demonstrates clearly how we can all improve by learning from Botvinnik's play.

Any man in the street knows how to increase his physical strength, but among most chess players confusion reigns when it comes to improving their playing strength. Axel Smith's training methods have guided his friends, team-mates and pupils to grandmaster norms and titles. Hard work will be required, but Axel Smith knows how you can Pump Up Your Rating. Every area of chess is covered -- opening preparation, through middlegame play, to endgame technique. Smith delves into both the technical and psychological sides of chess, and shows how best to practise and improve.

Have you ever wished for a “formula” to help you decide what move to make in any given chess position? In this ambitious and groundbreaking work, physicist and chess master Alexander Shashin presents the fruit of three decades of research into the elements of the game. He breaks down the position into mathematical ratios that compare the fundamental factors of material, mobility, safety, and space for each side, leading you to the proper plan and the mental attitude to adopt in light of what’s happening on the board.

Reinfeld's Masterpiece How to Play Chess like a Champion is Fred Reinfeld's sequel to his How to be a Winner at Chess and an absolute gem. In it the reader will find an exquisite blending of classic games, stories, insights, and instruction as only Reinfeld can put together. Rarely has an author succeeded so well as here, combining instruction, entertainment, and pure enjoyment. This new 21st-century edition is presented in modern algebraic notation in a double-column format, with many more diagrams. Throughout, the writing of Reinfeld, the master wordsmith and instructor, has been left intact. How to Play Chess like a Champion is among the very best introductory chess books ever produced, bar none, capturing the essence of good chess in a most readable, enjoyable, easy-to-grasp format.

Through a revolutionary testing system, Dr. Kopec is able to quantify their overall chess strength, specific deficiencies and definite abilities, allowing him to pinpoint which aspects need the most work. This book, developed with the US Chess Federation, represents the sum of Dr. Kopec's knowledge and efforts to help chess players understand and acquire the knowledge necessary to achieve chess mastery.

This is essentially a book on chess history, showing how different styles of chess play became popular and flourished and then faded in popularity, such as for example the Hyper-Modern Style of play that became "All the Rage" in the 1920s and 1930s.

Coach Jay Stallings takes coaches and players alike through some of the strangest and weirdest (yet true!) stories in Chess. From how Ossip Bernstein had to save his own life with a game of chess to Bobby Fischer's amazing winning streak to Harry Nelson Pillsbury's ability to play Chess, Checkers and cards at the same time, there is something in here for everyone, complete with Coach Stalling's insights on what you can learn from these stories to improve your own game!

HAVE you ever wanted to play chess with the masters? Reinfeld shows you how. Now you can play against some of the world's greatest masters, in the privacy of your study with no annoying “kibitzers” around, and with no time limit to harry you!

Chess Quiz is a collection of 15 chess quizzes each with 20 puzzles in them, for a total of 300 in all. The reader grades himself. If he gets 18 of the 20 right he is master strength. If he gets 16 right he is club player strength. If he gets 14 right he is amateur strength. If he gets only 10 right he is average strength

What separates the best chess players from the rest? What gives them the edge over their rivals? Chess legend Vladimir Kramnik believes it's their fighting skills and the ability to continuously find ways to keep a game alive. Colin Crouch agrees, and is fascinated that the world’s strongest players seem almost unbeatable, even when games appear sharp and double-edged.

What separates the best chess players from the rest? What gives them the edge over their rivals? Chess legend Vladimir Kramnik believes it's their fighting skills and the ability to continuously find ways to keep a game alive. Colin Crouch agrees, and is fascinated that the world’s strongest players seem almost unbeatable, even when games appear sharp and double-edged.

What separates the best chess players from the rest? What gives them the edge over their rivals? Chess legend Vladimir Kramnik believes it's their fighting skills and the ability to continuously find ways to keep a game alive. Colin Crouch agrees, and is fascinated that the world’s strongest players seem almost unbeatable, even when games appear sharp and double-edged.

This volume completes Artur Yusupov's course of chess improvement. The Fundamentals series showed players the basic ideas they should know. The Beyond the Basics series set off on the road to mastery, and now in the Mastery series we have arrived at our final destination. Yusupov guides the reader using carefully selected positions and advice. This new understanding is then tested by a series of puzzles.

Vladimir Kramnik is a giant of the chess world. He firmly secured his legendary status when he won the World Championship in 2000 by defeating the previously dominant Garry Kasparov - the only player ever to do so in a match. Kramnik held on to his crown for seven years, and today he remains one of the World's elite players. In this book, former American Open Champion Cyrus Lakdawala invites you to join him in a study of his favourite Kramnik games.

Vladimir Kramnik is a giant of the chess world. He firmly secured his legendary status when he won the World Championship in 2000 by defeating the previously dominant Garry Kasparov - the only player ever to do so in a match. Kramnik held on to his crown for seven years, and today he remains one of the World's elite players. In this book, former American Open Champion Cyrus Lakdawala invites you to join him in a study of his favourite Kramnik games.

H.O. from ND writes, "Received my beautiful ebonized Winsor chess set today. It is awesome. A work of art I will treasure & play with. I can't wait to save up enough for my House of Staunton chess board."

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